News
BrewDog forced to discard ‘millions of pounds’ of ‘infected’ beer
An email to staff from BrewDog chief supply chain officer Chris Fielden, which was uncovered by the Daily Record, has revealed that the issue caused the business to fall £950,000 below its target after millions of pounds worth of beer was discarded.
Fielden said that "basic hygiene issues" resulted in the beer becoming infected and admitted that sour beer had been shipped to customers, resulting in a record number of complaints.
BrewDog has since issued a statement confirming that customers who raised concerns have been compensated and that the issue is now resolved.
“Through the investigation we’ve ruled out many things and keep coming back to the same basic causes,” he wrote.
“Poor hygiene standards, particularly around the brewing operation.”
Concluding his email, Fielden said that he was disappointed by a lack of accountability among staff for the error and called for employees to all take responsibility for shop floor hygiene.
BrewDog public statement
In light of the email becoming public Food Manufacture reached out to BrewDog for comment.
In response, a spokesperson said: “Beer quality is our absolute number one priority. Unfortunately, earlier this year, we discovered that some batches of beer did not meet our high standards due to a minor, irregular process issue. While most of the affected beer did not leave the brewery, a small quantity reached some of our customers.
“The affected beer, which represents a minuscule proportion of our annual production (approx. 0.02%), did not meet our high standards and did not taste as good as it should, but we would like to reassure customers that it did not pose a health risk. The cause of the issue was quickly identified and resolved, and any customer who raised concerns with us were recompensed appropriately. We apologise to anyone who has had a less than perfect beer.”
BrewDog co-founder James Watt stepped down from his role as CEO in May, with James Arrow stepping up to replace him.
In other news, Diageo has laid out plans to demolish the Talisker at Carbost distillery in an application submitted to the Highland Council.
